My Little Pony Annual 2013
My Little Pony Annual 2013 is an annual edition comic released by IDW Publishing as a tie-in with My Little Pony Equestria Girls. It features two stories that serve as prequels to the events of the film: "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer", an 8-page featurette that chronicles Sunset Shimmer's last days as Princess Celestia's personal student and fall from grace, and "Equestria Girls", a 40-page story about the human counterparts of Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy struggling as freshmen at Canterlot High School. "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer" was originally released in special editions of and distributed at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International. Summary The Fall of Sunset Shimmer In an examination hall at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, Sunset Shimmer, Celestia's personal student, prepares to take a magic test in front of three of the school's instructors. She uses a growth spell on a potted plant and makes it grow incredibly large, impressing the instructors and a couple of other spectating students. Later that day, Moondancer , Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lyra Heartstrings offer Sunset praise for her spell and invite her to have lunch with them. Sunset turns down their invitation quite callously and says that her studies are far more important than socializing. She smugly walks away, earning the ponies' resentment. Some time later, Princess Celestia talks with Sunset Shimmer, having heard about her hostile attitude toward other ponies. She reminds Sunset of their previous talk about relationships and humility, but Sunset is only concerned about being "the best". Celestia shows Sunset to a Crystal Mirror and asks her what she sees; Sunset sees herself as a powerful ruler of Equestria. She also briefly sees herself as a human, but Celestia dismisses it as a "trick of the light" and guides Sunset away from the mirror. Every day for the next several weeks, Sunset barrages Celestia with questions about the mirror. Celestia continually tells Sunset she isn't ready to know about the mirror yet and will learn about it in due time. Sunset, however, believes that she is ready to know about it and takes it upon herself to prove it to her teacher. Going behind her teacher's back, Sunset sneaks into a forbidden library and does research on the mirror. When the librarian wakes up and catches her, she goes to alert the princess. Sunset finally finds information about the mirror just as Celestia and two of her royal guards arrive. Sunset berates her teacher for keeping such magic a secret from her. Celestia tries to be calm and patient with Sunset at first, but when Sunset lashes out and demands to be made a princess of Equestria, Celestia refuses, telling Sunset that gaining royalty must be earned and that she has proven unworthy of such a status. Celestia removes Sunset from her position as her personal student, banishes her from the castle, and has the guards escort her out. While being escorted, Sunset says to her former teacher, "This is the biggest mistake you'll make in your entire life." Celestia replies, "One of many", as a tapestry of her banishing Nightmare Moon hangs behind her. Later, as Celestia walks through the castle halls, she discovers her royal guards unconscious near the Crystal Mirror. When she wakes them up, they tell her that Sunset took them by surprise and jumped through the mirror. Celestia helps the guards up and has them move the mirror to her throne room in hopes that Sunset will return someday. In the final panel of the story, Sunset Shimmer steps through the other side of the portal and into the human world, pleased with her new surroundings. Equestria Girls The human counterparts of Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash give an interview for the Canterlot High School newspaper. An off-panel interviewer asks the five of them how they became friends. Their story begins at the school's Freshman Fair. As the five check out various clubs to sign up for, they cross paths with one another. A photo they take together marks the beginning of their friendship. On the first day of school, the five new friends are pleased to discover they share the same homeroom taught by Mrs. Harshwhinny. As Rainbow Dash tries to get in good with the soccer team, Applejack meets her cousins Babs Seed and Sunflower at lunch. However, Babs and Sunflower are more concerned with Rarity, whose fashionista style is making her popular. Because of Sunflower's eagerness to push Applejack away, Applejack knocks over Fluttershy's food tray. Fluttershy goes with Rarity to get cleaned up, while Sunflower makes it clear to Applejack that she'll never fit in at Canterlot High unless she "updates herself". Rarity loans Fluttershy some clothes to replace those she's stained, and Fluttershy thanks her, moved by her kindness. After school, Rainbow Dash tries out for the soccer team and impresses Spitfire and Soarin with her skills. After tryouts, Fluttershy sees Sunflower's pet chihuahua looking sickly but is too shy to approach. The interviewer moves on to Pinkie Pie; she tells the interviewer that she tried out for every club in school but didn't join any. Pinkie explains that the clubs were fun for her, but she wanted to create fun for everyone. The next day at school, as Pinkie struggles with her thoughts, she sees Applejack not wearing her hat and trying to talk without her accent. Fluttershy tries to return the clothes she borrowed from Rarity, but Rarity's growing popularity prevents Fluttershy from getting close. After homeroom, Rainbow Dash is excited to discover that she made the soccer team. Applejack tries to rein her in before her ego gets too inflated, but Rainbow Dash is confident she's the best player on the team. At lunch, Rarity sits with Babs and Sunflower again. She calls over Applejack, who's still struggling to fit in, but Sunflower is quick to shoo her away. Fluttershy then enters and tries to join, and this time Babs speaks up, saying they "don't make friends with losers". Babs and Sunflower's insults cause Fluttershy to run away in tears, and Rarity and Applejack stay silent for fear of ruining their social standing. Over the course of the following month, the five friends drift apart—each wrestling with their own personal or social problems—until the day of the first soccer game of the season between the Wondercolts and the Shadowbolts. Next to the bleachers, Pinkie Pie pleads with Vice Principal Luna about something until the Vice Principal agrees. A gleeful Pinkie recruits Fluttershy to help with what she claims will "bring them together again". Together, they hand out fake pony ears and tails to the students in the crowd. When Fluttershy finds Sunflower in the crowd, she tries to talk to her about her sick dog, but Sunflower ignores her and starts to insult her. Hearing this, Rarity and Applejack finally call both Sunflower and Babs out on their appalling behavior and offer Fluttershy their help. On the field, Rainbow Dash's showboating only earns her criticism from Spitfire. When Pinkie Pie rallies the crowd together in a cheer, the inspired Rainbow Dash starts acting like a team player, and the Wondercolts win the game. The five friends come away from their experiences as better individuals: Applejack learns to be honest with herself and others, Rarity learns to generously share her friendship and not hoard it, Pinkie Pie forms a glee club to spread laughter to everyone, and Fluttershy learns that everyone—even those of ill repute—deserves kindness. On the final page of the story, Rarity shakes hands with the unseen interviewer and tells them she hopes they got enough for their story; the last panel reveals the interviewer to be Sunset Shimmer. Quotes The Fall of Sunset Shimmer :Sunset Shimmer: Hmpf. I have better things to do than socialize. I'm going to re-read 'Advanced Elemental Magical Practices' and then practice for my advanced summoning spells exam. What are you studying for? Nothing, that's what. :Moondancer: Well, she wasn't very nice. :Lemon Hearts: She's right full of herself, that's what! :Minuette: Her loss. I'm awesome. :Princess Celestia: Look into this mirror and tell me what you see. :Sunset Shimmer: A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and potential. :Princess Celestia: Care to try that again with our talk about humility taken into account? :Princess Celestia: No. Being a princess must be earned... I have been trying to teach you everything you need to know, but you've turned from it. Every time you say you "deserve" to get something without the effort just proves to me that you are not ready. :Sunset Shimmer: This is the biggest mistake you'll make in your entire life. :Princess Celestia: One of many. :Sunset Shimmer: Well, well, this is an interesting development... Equestria Girls :Fluttershy: voiceover We didn't know each other at first... :Pinkie Pie: voiceover And we each still had a lot to learn about ourselves... :Rarity: voiceover Not to mention learning what we want to be... :Applejack: voiceover But that's how it all began. :All: voiceover That's how we became friends. :Rainbow Dash: You're not late if you get in ahead of the teacher, right, Mrs. Harshwhinny? :Mrs. Harshwhinny: Well, you're not late yet, but the day's still young. :Fluttershy: Thank you so much, Rarity. This is so kind of you— :Rarity: Nonsense! We all need a little kindness every now and then. :Applejack: What're you thinking about? :Pinkie Pie: Everything. :Applejack: That's... a lot to think about. :Rarity: Sunflower, that's enough. Fluttershy is trying to show you great kindness, and you're attacking her! :Applejack: You got some nerve treatin' her—treatin' us!—like this! You an' Babs are bein' a coupla bullies! I don't know why I ever wanted to be friends with a coupla two-faced snobs! :Rarity: You're nothing but ungrateful wretches! :Applejack: Y'know, it sounds weird, but... somehow I feel like we were already friends, long before we even met! :Pinkie Pie: Like it was something already inside us, just waiting to come out! BWOOOOSH! :Rainbow Dash: And all it took was... ...a spark. :Rarity: Well, thank you again, Sunset. I hope you got enough for your story! :Sunset Shimmer: Believe me... I've got everything I need to know about you.